


A Girl's Secret Magic

by LittleLinor



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-06
Updated: 2013-10-06
Packaged: 2017-12-28 13:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/992677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLinor/pseuds/LittleLinor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the wake of November's events, she treats her best friend to the best cheer up regimen she can think of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Girl's Secret Magic

She finds him aimlessly walking in front of the cinema after school, holding without quite looking at it a notebook in his arms.  
"How long've you been here?"  
It takes him a few seconds and another call of his name to notice her.  
"Me? Oh. Er. I dunno. A while, I guess."  
It's all the incentive she needs to catch his arm with a smile and drag him to the closest coffee shop.

At first, she thinks that her choice of location might not have been the best. The place is... frilly. And usually, bringing her male friends there to watch them squirm is something she would love doing, but the last thing she wants is to further remind him of Chidori's dress.  
It turns out he doesn't need any reminding, though. Where he'd usually chatter away and complain about work or exams, he's mostly silent, if trying to smile, and there's something in her that's a little mad, just a little, at that girl for making him suffer like that.  
"You want to know a girl's secret magic against depression?"   
That at least makes him react.  
"Yeah?"  
"Hold on."  
He raises an eyebrow when she gets up to go order, and still has it raised when she comes to sit back down, face comfortably settled into a smug smile.  
When the two cups of ice cream arrive on the table, though, it's both his eyebrows that shoot up.  
"The hell? We're gonna eat all that?"  
"Ice cream heals all. The sad version is out of the box in front of the tv, but getting an actual cup with fruit and whipped cream is so much better."  
" _You_ 're gonna eat all that?"  
"Try me."

Fifteen minutes later, he's toying with his fifth ball of ice cream, and finally talking. About Chidori, about himself, about how much he wanted to protect her because he didn't know how else to interact with her, or how else to feel worthy of anything. About his grades that finally went up a bit because of the worry and energy he put into trying to be more responsible. About how strange it feels, to feel like someone is right there with you, yet be unable to touch them.  
She nods and listens (listening is easier, much easier than talking, you can learn so much about people just by letting them talk, and sometimes heal a few things, too) and waits for things to finally come out, because she knows, in a way, what it's like to lose someone so close (and at the same time she doesn't know at all). He falls silent before he reaches his last ball of ice cream, and she casually reaches into it with her spoon to feed it to him, making his eyes snap back.  
"Come on. Finish it. That's how the magic works."  
"By giving you stomachache?"  
"I have a separate stomach for sweets. But sad people do too."  
"Yeah, right." He rolls his eyes and eats the rest in one massive spoonful, and she can't help but giggle when he cringes as the cold freezes his palate.  
"Satisfied?" he asks, blinking tears away.  
"Very."  
Silence settles for a few minutes, before he finally looks back at her and sighs.  
"Thanks."  
"Feel better?"  
"Sort of."  
"It'll take time, Junpei."  
"Yeah, I know." He snorts. "Look at me. Crying all over you like a baby when you and Akihiko-senpai lost--"  
"It's okay. We'll live. And if we're lucky, maybe he will too." Her eyes fall on the notebook. "Have you tried drawing?"  
"What? Have you ever _seen_ me draw? It'd be a damn disaster."  
"Want to try?"  
He looks at her, then down, then back up. For the first time in days, a small, very small smile glows at the corner of his lips.  
"... maybe, yeah."

They go back to the dorm together, hand in hand and with a new box of crayons each.

**Author's Note:**

> Afterwards they go to Junpei's room and doodle dumb drawings in crayons to take off the dramatic edge and get him started.  
> She draws SEES as a stick figure family, with Daddy Mitsuru and Mommies Akihiko and Shinji.  
> Then puts it up in the lobby.


End file.
